novelhk Chapter 98 Giving the Stubborn Prime Minister a Lesson
Chapter 98 Giving the Stubborn Prime Minister a Lesson
Chapter 98 Giving the Stubborn Prime Minister a Lesson
Wang You didn't know the exact order of the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song, but if we're talking about the one with the lowest profile, it should be Zeng Gong, right?
But since they are among them, they must be talented.
Wang You suddenly realized that he had already met three of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties today.
Su Xun and Ouyang Xiu seemed to have a past connection. He remembered that when Su Xun and his two sons went to the capital to take the imperial examination, they first visited Ouyang Xiu.
Su Shi's articles were greatly admired by Ouyang Xiu, who recommended them to many of his colleagues and friends.
People of Ouyang Xiu's stature were practically trendsetters in the literary world.
Because of his fondness for Su Shi's writings, every time Su Shi's works were published, they caused a sensation in Bianjing (Kaifeng), making paper scarce.
He was already famous in Bianjing even before the imperial examinations began.
I already have calligraphy works by Ouyang Xiu and Wang Anshi.
I'll get to know Su Shi and his two sons, and then in a few years I'll ask Zeng Gong for a piece of his calligraphy. That way I'll have collected all the calligraphy of the six great masters of the Song Dynasty.
It can be passed down to future generations, and in a few hundred years, it will be valuable.
These were all Wang Youyi's thoughts in an instant. After Ouyang Xiu finished his introduction, he cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Greetings, Brother Zeng!"
"Ziqian, you're too polite."
Zeng Gong returned the greeting with a smile and said, "My master and Scholar Hai are close friends. If Ziqian doesn't mind, you can call me senior brother!"
"Senior brother!"
Wang You wouldn't mind at all. He's already calling me "senior brother," so it's not too much to ask him to write me a few hundred pieces of calligraphy in the future, is it?
"You younger generation should get to know each other better," Ouyang Xiu said with a smile.
Next, Hai Wenqing and the others invited Wang Min to chat.
Wang Youze and Zeng Gong sat at the lower end of the table, talking quietly.
"Ziqian!"
Just then, Wang Anshi walked over.
"Lord Wang!" Wang You quickly stood up and bowed.
"Don't be shy, sit down and let's talk."
Wang Anshi waved his hand, sat down beside him, and said, "What you just said has benefited me greatly, but I also have some doubts."
Wang You smiled bitterly to himself upon hearing this; those words he had just uttered were just empty boasts.
There's definitely some truth to it, but if you really want to discuss it in detail, he might not be able to articulate anything concrete.
When he chatted with Zeng Gong, he was usually the one who took the initiative to ask for advice.
This was to prevent Zeng Gong from asking him some difficult questions.
Unexpectedly, Zeng Gong managed to evade the situation, but Wang Anshi arrived instead.
Since Wang Anshi had already spoken, he couldn't refuse, so he could only say, "I am still young and may not be able to answer your questions, Lord Wang."
"It's alright, we were just chatting."
Wang Anshi said, "The new laws formulated by Fan Zhongyan and Fu Xiangong failed because of the great resistance. However, the deep-seated problems of the court have not been solved and still exist, so it is inevitable that reforms will be carried out again in the future."
I intend to learn from the failure of the new law and start from another angle. Ziqian, do you think this is feasible?
Upon hearing this, Wang You felt a headache coming on. It seemed that Wang Anshi was already planning to find another way.
Historically, Wang Anshi's reforms were fundamentally different from those of Fan Zhongyan and others.
The Qingli New Deal was a top-down reform.
Moreover, it directly addresses the root cause of long-standing problems.
Simply put, it means streamlining administration and reducing bureaucracy.
Isn't the problem of redundant personnel, redundant officials, and redundant bureaucracy serious? After streamlining the administration and reducing bureaucracy, the problems of redundant personnel and redundant officials can be solved.
As for redundant expenses, they are generated based on these two factors.
Military expenditures and officials' salaries accounted for the vast majority of the court's revenue, leading to a deficit and a lack of funds to address other issues.
Although the core of Wang Anshi's reforms seemed to start from the bottom up, it was actually about making money.
This way of thinking isn't necessarily wrong; ultimately, it's just a matter of not having money.
If the imperial court had the money, with the population of the Song Dynasty, it wouldn't be too much to support another million soldiers.
With money, the three redundancies problem naturally ceases to be a problem.
This approach can hardly be considered a temporary solution; Wang You felt it was a last resort.
The problem of redundant troops and officials is indeed significant. Even if it doesn't cause financial strain, downsizing and reducing the number of officials hired are issues that need to be addressed.
This has nothing to do with cutting expenses because of a lack of money.
Rather, it is an unnecessary expense.
It is often said that family and country are interconnected, and in many ways, governing a family and governing a country have a lot in common.
The problem of redundant soldiers and officials can be seen as a family constantly indulging in extravagance and waste, with expenses increasing day by day.
Wang Anshi's approach was to increase household income to maintain the household's operations and ensure that it could continue to operate at a high cost.
Did Wang Anshi not know that doing so was like drinking poison to quench thirst?
There is certainly a limit to the revenue generated from open source, but expenses keep increasing.
In the future, we will still face a situation where income cannot cover expenditures.
But he had no choice; he had a rebellious son at home, and if he tried to cut expenses on this son, the son would make a huge scene.
Wang Anshi might not care, but he still had the Emperor above him.
Therefore, even though he knew that open source could only provide temporary relief, he still shouted the phrase "no increase in taxes for the people, but the national football team will use it."
However, the wealth of the world is fixed. Since the government does not want to interfere with officials and the army, nor increase taxes, the only way to raise money for the court is to target the local gentry.
Therefore, most of the reform strategies formulated by Wang Anshi were aimed at the local gentry.
In Wang Anshi's view, these people were not like the officials in the court, who could directly oppose the reforms.
Unlike ordinary people, who would be incited to revolt if exploited too much.
Moreover, these people occupy most of the resources, so they are naturally the first choice for targets.
Wang You wondered if Wang Anshi had any plans to continue reforming officials and the army after solving the court's financial problems.
But he was certain that Wang Anshi's idea was naive.
The gentry, officials, and merchants were actually inseparable.
Many officials come from gentry families, and even if they don't, they will still develop in that direction after they become officials.
Moreover, officials needed the support of local gentry to govern their regions, thus they were already deeply bound to the gentry.
How could Wang Anshi's reform strategy possibly succeed?
"I don't know how to answer what you're saying, Lord Wang. But I do have a few thoughts of my own that you might find helpful," Wang You said.
"Ziqian, please speak," Wang Anshi nodded.
"I believe that when doing something, you should first figure out what your original intention is in doing it."
Wang You asked, "I wonder what Lord Wang thinks is the purpose of the reform?"
"The reforms are intended to address the long-standing problems of the court and break free from its weakness," Wang Anshi said.
"Simply put, it's about being a powerful nation, right?" Wang You asked.
"That's right!" Wang Anshi nodded.
"So, when these long-standing problems did not cause the imperial court's finances to be in deficit, was the Song Dynasty strong?"
The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun are still in the hands of the Liao Dynasty, which couldn't even defeat the Western Xia.
Wang You countered, "Even if Lord Wang has the means to increase the court's revenue, does that mean the court is stronger?"
"Of course not."
Wang Anshi shook his head and said, "Solving the court's financial problems is only the first step."
But only by solving this problem can we plan for other things.
"Lord Wang doesn't have the Midas touch; if he doesn't cut spending, he can only increase revenue."
"If you want to open up new sources of revenue, it's simply a matter of increasing taxes or commercial taxes, or targeting the gentry. I wonder what Lord Wang's goal is?"